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Even during Kali Puja and Diwali, the city’s ambient air quality returned to ‘moderate’ after a sharp rise.
An AQI of 201-300 is in the ‘poor’ category, while 301-400 indicates ‘very poor’ condition.
On Monday, the city was covered with haze even as the haze subsided, and the air quality deteriorated as the day progressed. According to scientists of the State Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), the weather-related changes led to calm air conditions, which reduced the dispersion of pollutants in the air. As per the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board, AQI from ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ can cause shortness of breath on prolonged exposure.
Even as Delhi and NCR were gasping for fresh air last week, the ambient AQI continued to drop from ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ (401-500), thanks to good airflow over Kolkata Experiencing ‘moderate’ AQI. “In fact, we kept a close watch on crop residue burning in the districts and kept it under control,” said a WBPCB official. Crop residue burning in Punjab and Haryana is often cited as one of the main reasons for the sharp rise in pollution in Delhi.
Docs: Poor AQI may increase patient count
For example, Ballygunge station recorded a ‘poor’ AQI at the start of the day, but at 9 am, it became ‘very poor’. It continued to worsen till 1 pm and after 3 pm it improved marginally, but remained ‘very poor’ throughout the day. AQI was also ‘poor’ at other stations except Ravindra Sarobar, which is located in the most pristine area of the city. Bidhannagar, which showed ‘moderate’ air quality in the morning, also fell in the ‘poor’ category till 9 am and has remained in the area since then.
“This slide is ominous,” said consultant pulmonologist Arup Halder. “If the AQI continues to be poor, there will be a sudden increase of patients with breathing problems. Even after this Diwali, we have not seen a sudden jump in the number of patients as the air quality remains tolerable as compared to previous years.”
In addition to breathing problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the most common diseases caused by air pollution include ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and acute lower respiratory infections.
Preventive medicine expert Debasis Basu said, “Since Kolkata’s AQI is driven by PM2.5, which is the smallest particulate, the danger is much more serious than we generally believe.
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